Faith(Part 5)-Mexican Cuisine(conclusion)

Heaveno!!

By now, most of you must have realised that I am a very lethargic person.It has been more than a month since my last post.(again!!!).I would appreciate if you bear with me.Suggestions to get rid of this undesired habit are welcome.I am all ears(in case you call or tell me directly) and eyes,if you plan to text or mail me.And of course,most of you will be too lazy(like me) to do either of the above.Needless to mention,there is only a remote chance that your suggestions to wake up at 5 a.m. would sound pragmatic to me.So why Bother?.I have miserably failed in this endeavour to wake up early in the morning.I hope  'late to bed and late to rise' will make me healthy wealthy and wise...JJ
Its 2nd of October today.The nation and especially the liquor shops are observing a national holiday.This post is a small tribute to the Mahatma from me.I know there are a lot of things written and said about him but  in context with this post,I have great veneration for him because of his (failed)attempts pertinent to the religious unification.I am trying to do the same through this post.Although I cannot match his level as a lazy and (not so good) to be engineer,but I would like to consider this as a humble effort from my side.

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" . 

This is going to be the conclusive post in the 'Faith' series.Through this series,I have endeavoured to put forward my own views on spirituality,existence of God,creation of universe and the duality of science and spirituality to which many of our '(pseudo)scientific' friends were oblivious.In the last post, I related an incident which enabled me to understand the true nature of 'Faith'.It taught me to respect other's faith and beliefs.This does not mean that you have to abandon your own set of beliefs and adopt that of the others.It simply means that you must not attempt to prove that your system of faith is inferior to mine.This is the root cause of all the chaos,violence and hatred in the name of God or religion in the world.When the feeling of universal acceptance and tolerance pervades the world,it is led to being a peaceful place where everyone dwells in harmony.The age old concept of "Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam" must be the mantra for making the world a better place to live in.

When we talk of faith,our mind inadvertently jumps to a word called 'religion'.In the world,we have seen innumerable riots,manslaughters and disputes in the name of religion.Adhering to the rudiments,the basic definition of religion is -'A particular system of Faith or worship'.Now the question arises that why do people have to fight when somewhere in our hearts,we all are aware about the oneness of God.As I have stated in earlier posts, faith holds the ultimate significance.Religion is nothing but a set of beliefs which are supposed to be a torchlight in the dark path to reach God.What we don't understand is that paths may be different but the' Destination' is the same.By this analogy, we all,irrespective of our set of beliefs are like  fellow passengers on the journey to the same destination.For God seeking men,the ultimate destination is the eternal,immortal and all pervading Supersoul (Paramatman).

When we recognise that all of us are embarked on different ships headed towards the same destination then what is the point to fight even before the start of the journey that my ship will reach faster,yours won't.This is nothing but sheer ignorance.Then, the fight to prove the might of one's ship over the other reaches to such a level that we get so engrossed in it that we forget the fact that we have not yet begun our journey.The ships keep on waiting at the port but the people who were supposed to travel on it spend whole of their lives arguing and quarrelling to prove their superiority over the other.Time passes on ,the ship still waits for them but they are unperturbed,incessantly quarrelling.Then one day the inevitable death comes and the quarrel ends on the port itself..Their clique argues that they spent their lives fighting for their faith.What they don't realise is that the journey never began.What is the point to fight over the path when you don't reach the destination??
Then ,there were the enlightened ones who had only the destination in mind.They had FAITH that their ship will sooner or later take them to their destination.They didn't argue with the passengers on other ships.Their ships finally left the port,sailed and one day reached the destination.They must be relishing the nectar of infinite spiritual energy as they are now one with the source of energy itself..

The other problem which is an off shoot of the "Mine is Better" thinking is Non tolerance.If we look back in time,the Indian culture flourished because it is principally based on universal acceptance and tolerance.Tolerance is a very misunderstood concept.It doesn't imply that if someone insults you or your faith,you TOLERATE it quietly.This is cowardice.Tolerance simply means respecting other's faith.One should not try to demean or denigrate faith of the other.It is like sharing your hostel room with a fellow student.both must accept each other the way they are.The problem arises when we try to 'customize' the other person according to us.We should accept the people the way they are.It is the little differences that make us unique.The world would be too Boring if SAME people are all around.So we must respect the differences and hence the individualities.This is the beauty of creation.!!!

When we try to model the people according to us,this hampers the equilibrium of individualities.By Le Chatlier's Principle of Chemical equilibrium,this results in the amplified reaction of the people whom we are trying to change according to us.These repercussions further take the form of an altercation.Most of the impervious religious fanatics often try to proselytize.They feel that their religion is the only authentic way to reach god and hence try to convince or coerce people of other faiths to convert to theirs.One may enjoy the same spiritual ecstasy after listening to a Gurubani or a Bhajan or a Sufi prayer.What people don't realise is that to enjoy a Mexican dish,one need not have a Mexican nationality.An Indian can relish Mexican delicacies without relinquishing his nationality.He acknowledges the Mexican cuisine.This is the essence of tolerance and acceptance.

If we understand these subtle things and respect the individualities we can make our world a more peaceful and spiritually elevated place to live where the beauty lies in the little differences we have...
With this I will now conclude the faith series.I hope this would be as good as the "epic conclusion to the Dark Knight legend"
We all can save our Gotham!!!!JJJJJ

Faith(Part 4)-Shedding the Impermeability(What's your Problem??)

Heaveno!!!
Its been long since I last updated the blog.Actually, I was confronting the eternal truth of creation and destruction.It is the 'truest' truth in this world that creation is a countdown to destruction.Destruction lays a  path for creation.Nothing in this unfathomable universe is imperishable.All things come with an expiry date which may or may not be explicit but expiry is a surety.This is the beauty of creation.The surety of impermanence acts as a incessant alarm, constantly reminding one about the limited time and obligation to accomplish his 'role' on the planet in this short duration.This reminds me of the famous dialogue from one of my favourite movies- Anand which goes as:
Babu moshai zindagi aur maut uparwale ke hath hai jahapana, jise na aap badal sakte hain na main. Hum sab to rangmanch ki kathputliyan hain jiski dor us upar wale ke haathon main hai ..kab, kaun ,kahan,kaise uthega ye koi nahin bata sakta....

Let me assure you this is NOT a melancholic article which gives you an overdose of malady,which most of us have in plenty.I was just explaining the reason for my absence(in a philosophically fancy manner) which some of you may bother to ask.
Actually my laptop, which was about 5-6 years old finally took its last breath and with it my data is also presumably gone on a roadtrip to heaven(from where,we know that nobody returns).The last paragraph was my humble obituary to my old electronic companion.You can always derive inspiration from the things around you.J
As a famous saying goes-"The Show must go On".I truly abide by it and subsequently I bought a new laptop.The period since my last post has been very eventful.We witnessed Mr.Rajesh Khanna and Mr.Dara Singh pass away,yet another Anna Andolan and many other events which were significant(at least for India TV!!).So here I am!!(More excited than Ek tha Tiger fans).So with a new laptop,new college session(with a new bag) and a new zeal-Chaliye hum aur aap khelte hain Kaun Banega Crorepati.....@#$#$### JJJJ

In this post,as I promised in the earlier post,I am going to relate an incident which taught me the true meaning of faith and this enabled me to get insights into the realms of the controversial and ostensibly significant concept of religion.
One of my very good friends is an ardent devotee of Sathya Sai Baba.He was my classmate right from the kindergarten section to high school.We had many altercations on this issue which often culminated into 'don't talk to me' situations but somehow we have managed to keep our Friend'ship' sailing.Afterall,debate is one of the principal pillars of democracy.I thought of myself as an  intellectual(Empty vessels sound much) and always tried to bully his views, arguing that you cannot consider a living person to be the creator,almighty God himself.I was not trying to display my intellect or to demean him by doing so.I just wanted that my friend should not fall prey to the so called 'godmen' ,who have devised a business model based on exploitation of people's  faith.
One fine evening,we were taking a stroll in a public garden.We were discussing about movies, college life,music,girls and similar topics when out of somewhere,the topic of God broke out.I pounced upon the opportunity to criticise him for his belief in Sathya Sai.He had lately passed away and a lot of undisclosed cash and gold was recovered from his room.I used all my knowledge gathered recently from the news channels to censure his belief in Sathya Sai and was successful to an extent because he had no immediate answer to my questions.But his face looked pale.His faith hadn't stirred a bit but his eyes reflected the unusual anger which otherwise is miles away from his ever cheerful countenance.
"Sometimes I feel too much repulsion from you",he retorted.I felt really bad for hurting the sentiments of a dear friend but still my ego was so mammoth that I again ventured him into the debate.I said something,he said something and when the tension built up further,he said "Let's leave".I wanted to spend some more time with him but he was in no mood to continue the discussion which culminated into a heated argument.Then from somewhere inside me a voice emerged "Strive to be a good listener".I asked him to stay and change the topic.He agreed,we started talking about some girl we met at a friend's place.But the girl seemed immaterial infront of the latent and forcefully subdued raging urge to resume the debate.Somehow it again started.But this time I decided to be a better listener.
He politely asked me what's my problem with him worshipping Sathya Sai??I played my own record and said "Because first of all he is a human.Secondly,he displays kiddish magic tricks to prove his divinity and thirdly because of the "black money" found in his room.These tricks were performed live on national television by a 'magician' who called himself a mere entertainer".He said it's ok with him and again posed the same intriguing question before me."What's your problem if I believe?"
I instantly replied"I don't have a problem but you are deluded.What you are thinking of as gold is actually iron pyrites".The question again came to me-"It's alright with me but What's your problem??".To this I had no reply.He continued "I believe in him as a God.You don't believe.Nobody is asking you to to believe in him.I make wishes to him and they are fulfilled.He has extricated me from the worst of situations.If I give all the credit of the inexplicable 'miracles' that happened in my life to him even if they happened by chance or luck.If I serve the needy and the poor in the name of my 'False God' and you do nothing in the name of 'True God'
apart from chanting his name then who is a better devotee to God?We hold social service programs every month and participate in community service in baba's name.What do you do Mr. Critic?If I attribute all my achievements to a 'false God' whom I consider to be a true one,What's wrong in this?Moreover how can you prove that 'your' God is true and mine is not."
I was dumbfounded.I searched for a place to hide my shame exuding face.The ageless wisdom of faith was revealed to me by a fellow classmate unknowingly.
This post is not intended to praise or glorify or otherwise hurt someone.I still don't believe in Sathya Sai as a God.But What I learnt from this incident was to respect one's faith.I am now a completely different person from the one on that day.I don't respect Sathya Sai but I have greatest of respect for the unshakable faith of my friend in him.It gives him the limitless prowess which comes in gratis with faith that someone is always there to support you in times of distress and need.As a rationalist I can only say that whenever something good happened to him or his prayers were answered(by chance/luck or his efforts),he credited it to his lord and the faith increased 'exponentially'.
This wisdom of faith and devotion is best found in the discourses of Bhagwad Gita in which Sri Krishna tells Arjun that A devotee who consecrates all his thoughts to almighty and acts in complete devotion to the lord is very dear to him.

The case is same with most of the people in this world.They squabble over petty issues like "Your God" and "My God" and waste their lives in proving one's superiority over the other.They are like exhausted and thirsty people on the bank of a pond of nectarlike water quarrelling over the shape of their pots and dying of thirst while the wise men savour the water and quench their thirst from the water which was actually colourless.
(The Colourless nectarlike water pond is a metaphor used for God's inconceivable form and the pots symbolise the religions which serve as a utility to fetch water from the divine pond.)

Faith-(Part 3) Widening the perspective

Heaveno!!!

A week before,I changed the background and layout of the blog.I hope you liked it.But looks in this case are superficial.Today I noticed an ostensible contradiction in the title and look of this blog.The background has an image of clouds in the sky and the title is 'The Caged Ornith'.I liked the image as it instantly appealed to me and so I am too obstinate to remove the image.But then,by making the use of my limited wits,I have explained myself that the background image depicts the ambition and thoughts of the 'Caged Ornith'.Most of us are 'Caged Orniths' too.We live in our world doing our professional and household chores and have a secret or dormant ambition or thought of your own perfect,blissful world abundant of material,spiritual and physical energy.Similar is the case with our 'Caged Ornith'.Living in a cage,unsure of freedom,it aspires to flutter in the sky near the clouds.Thus the title and the background don't appear contradictory anymore (at least to me).
In the last post I presented some points to support the arguments that there is a power that is unfathomable and omniscient which has created and is making the universe run smoothly.It will also in the future destroy the world(as claimed in many religions-A Judgement day kind of thing) and thus genesis will happen again.Thus,it is an unending cycle of creation and destruction.Again,we can notice the duality between creation and destruction.Some people may argue and say that "Ok! we do believe God exists and created the world.Thanks a lot!! But why do we need to pray or worship??"
The best answer to this could be-'Just to show that you are grateful to him and admire his wonderful creation.Whether you are an Engineer,Doctor or an Artist,you will agree that he is a better 'professional' than you.If you are a selfish one(Much alike me),then there are some situations which are beyond your control-Passing the exam for which you hadn't studied :) or more seriously praying for the well being of a loved one.There are numerous occasions in which you are helpless and  find yourself in the middle of nowhere.In such situation,(for most of us) God seems to be the only refuge'.Like they say,
When life knocks you on your knees,You are in a perfect position to pray.
Praying also helps to tap the infinite powers of the brain which lie dormant in the subconscious regions of the brain.The human mind has unlimited powers.Also,when you pray,it is a unilateral conversation between you and God.You speak and he listens patiently(we believe he does!).He then acts on his discretion and answers our prayers in a way which is most beneficial for us.
The Bhagwadgeeta  says-
Mind is a Terrible master but a wonderful servant.


So after one agrees to the fact that there IS god,the next obvious question he is sure to ask is-Who is he?.Well as of now,we don't know!.If you follow news channels,they are incessantly relaying programmes with titles similar to "God found" (in context to the Higgs Boson experiment).But still, it is like a first step in the journey of a thousand miles.We are still 'light years' away from the truth.For the seekers,one way to find the answer is you must transgress the worldly and bodily limits; which is not a pragmatic way(Atleast for a layman like me!).But that does not mean that there is no answer.People like us are enjoying spiritual pleasures and relishing them by making use of this approach.It is a simple yet powerful way to connect with God.The answer to the question is a word with which all of us are familiar.Faith!!!


What is faith??The best example to illustrate faith is of a child whom we slowly throw in the air but he is sure that he won't fall.There is someone who will hold him when he comes down.Thus,faith is a trust in God that he stands by you in every phase of life.You just need to acknowledge his presence.Now one may ask that why do we face sorrow,grief,misery and hardships in life?To this question I found the best answer in Quran that Life is a test for the human being.If we analyse it,it can be found out without without obscurity that God has provided man with the best tools(wit,brain,emotions and the human body as a whole) to overcome these hardships and act in the wisest way in order to 'pass the test'.But we as always tend to blame the examiner for setting up an 'impossible to pass' question paper.Like Engineering entrance exams in India,only a handful of students pass.Rest always find someone to blame.(a Bitter truth-I too found 3 people to blame)


People who know me,know that I have a habit to argue tooth and nail with my friends,relatives and acquaintances against the 'Godmen' and 'babas'.I used to look at their followers condescendingly.I have always been sceptical about these mortals claiming to be incarnations or prophets of god.Even today,My common sense doesn't allow me to believe their divinity.Though I bear great respect for some of them as a saint and preacher but I don't look upon them as the creator of the world.I love debating on such issues.I was like the empty(scantily full) vessel which makes more noise.I left no opportunity ungrabbed to debate and criticize the opposing party,who was more often a follower or a believer of a 'divine guru'.I presented scientific,religious and philosophical arguments to prove them that they were wrong.It gave me an immense satisfaction when I was successful to demean them(most of the time I was!!).

It went on until one day I realised that I was just a proud and arrogant egotist who loves to boast infront of others and the only thing which holds significance is faith.It helped me to widen my perspective of looking at people.This also helped me to understand these matters from a neutral point of view which was unbiased.

I'll relate the incident in the next post.Let me be honest, no miracle happened(In a way it did happen) and I witnessed no apparition or an image in the tree or some India TV type 'Chamatkaar'.(Not that 3 Idiots one ofcourse J).It was just a conversation followed by an argument,a part of which shook up my stubborn thoughts..........

To be continued.......

Faith(Part 2) :Collecting The Evidences

Heaveno!!

I am feeling elated after going through the positive reviews I received (I am an extremely unpopular figure on the social network so please don't interpret that I am inundated with fan mails!) on my last post "Faith (Part 1)- Buying your Ammeter." The last post gave a glimpse of the duality between Science and Spirituality.They are not different but correlated.Like the Heisenberg's uncertainty principle states that at " You cannot measure the position and momentum of a body at the same time with cent per-cent accuracy" (Techies please don't behead me if the aforementioned principle has a semicolon or comma wrongly placed J).Similarly, you cannot view the world accurately with a completely scientific or a completely spiritual perspective.You need to have an optimal blend of both these perspectives(This line reminds me of an advertisement for a Tea brand!).
Albert Einstein said; "A legitimate conflict between science & religion cannot exist. Science without religion is lame; religion without science is blind"
In this post,as the title suggests,I will propose some arguments in the favour of the notion that the world(including us) could not have evolved as a result of a random event and gradually turned into one in which we live today.It is rather created meticulously in a planned manner by a superpower whose intellect is unfathomable.This is a brave endeavour only to express my views as I now consider the world to be a safer place for arguments than it was at the time of Galileo(Poor guy was imprisoned only because he said that the earth revolves round the sun).Today, armed with various theories likes of the Big Bang  Theory ( it's not the in vogue American sitcom!),scientists claim that the creation of universe was a random process.The theory of creation by a superpower is rejected by science.I am myself a science student,but when I use my logic and reasoning abilities(of which I have a scarcity of),they challenge my credulity in the the theories propounded which state that the creation of universe was a random process.

Hereby I also make a formal confession that I am very poor in Physics,Biology and Geography.These subjects have always appealed least to me.But fortunately I (unwillingly) studied these subjects(though at basic level).But as they say "Knowledge never goes waste",I now think that the basic knowledge of these subjects enabled me to understand the world in a better way.So this establishes that the points listed below are from a layman and  a novice philosopher.Let the Physics fanatics not be offended.

1. As far as we know by now(thanks to our space missions),no form of life exists in any other planets.As the size of the Earth is negligible as compared to that of the galaxy(Milky Way) it belongs to and the possibility of extra terrestrial life cannot be denied considering the fact that there are innumerable galaxies in the universe.
Now,with our knowledge till date,no form of life can exist without water.Also,there is no life in other planets and moon(s).Coincidentally NO other planet is known to have water on its surface.Life of any form cannot be imagined without water and water is found only on the planet Earth which 'coincidentally' supports life too.Moreover,the origin of water on the Earth is still unknown.

2. The Earth which is the only planet known to support life is at the optimum distance from the sun and the moon.If it were any nearer from the Sun the temperature would have been too high to support life and all the water on the surface would have evaporated.Any farther from the sun, it would have been too cold for life to flourish here.The Moon is responsible for the ocean tides that ensure that the oceans don't stagnate and if it was nearer the tides would have been so vigorous that the oceans would have drowned the continents.


3. There is a strange similarity between the 'Macro' and 'Micro' aspects of the universe.
The motion of planets around the sun is analogous to that of the electrons around the nucleus.Isn't it fascinating? 

4. The human body is an epitome of the meticulous planning of the almighty in creating the universe.The Sense organs(ears,nose,eyes,tongue and skin) work in co-ordination with the brain in the most perfect manner.The brain itself is capable of storing immeasurable amount of data.manifold greater than that of all the storage devices of the world summed together.

5.The stomach contains a layer of mucus which prevents it from digesting itself!! (It can digest flesh and hence the Hydrochloric acid in the stomach can corrode the walls of the stomach).This depicts a perfect troubleshooting arrangement.Created by a random process over centuries??

6. The Nervous system is a very complex communication network.Nerve impulses to and from the brain travel as fast as 170 miles per hour.That enable us to perceive the world around us with our sense organs. The complex nature of the Nervous system and the tremendous amount of utility it brings to the human body makes it the best and most efficient communication system.What's your say Telecom Engineers?? J

7. The human body is stores everything it requires to survive.Blood,Minerals,Water and Nutrients are stored in the body.Ever wondered why Oxygen is not stored.If it would have stored Oxygen we needn't breath every second.Isn't it??So many people who ever died of suffocation would have completed their lifespan.

But our creator was wise enough.As we know that oxygen is responsible for oxidation of food and hence the body cells.This is the basic process of 'Metabolism' which enables an organism to grow and reproduce.If the  body would have stored oxygen,the process of oxidation would have sped leading to a very short lifespan.Definitely, it looks planned and organised.

8. Each individual has different fingerprints.This becomes more astonishing when we know that the population of the world is greater than 7 Billion!! ( God helps forensic experts in catching absconding criminals!!)

9. Due to the typical behaviour of water,in freezing climates only the top layer of the water body freezes.The water remains in liquid state under the layer of ice.It reflects the amicability of the creator for aquatic animals.

10. Most of the water available on the surface of the earth is saline and unfit to consume.To overcome this problem, nature(read: Creator) set up a mechanism through which the saline water evaporates in pure form leaving the impurities behind and is distributed throughout the surface in the form of rainfall.It appears as system for the purification and distribution of water.Doesn't it say something that most of us are unable to listen??

11.Nature runs on some basic laws which are invariable.The sun rises in the east(The first example of Simple Present in Grammar books! ),Rotation of earth on its axis causing day and night,revolution of earth inclined on its axis round the sun causing change of seasons and Gravitational pull are the basic laws which earth abides by.No one knows why.But it does!!

Richard Feynman (A Nobel Prize winner for Electrodynamics) said that "Why nature is mathematical is a mystery.The fact that there are rules at all is a kind of miracle."

12. In every cell of our body there exists a genetic code called DNA(Deoxy riboNucleic Acid ).It is similar to a computer binary code.The computer binary codes are in form of 0s and 1s.Similarly the information in DNA is stored as a code made up of four chemical bases: adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and thymine (T).These codes act like instruction manuals for the cell and direct the cell to perform the necessary functions similar to a computer code.These codes could note have appeared on their own in each of  the billions of cells.Such information could not appear on its own without someone constructing it down.

13. The Atmosphere acts as a blanket of air over the surface of the earth.The ozone layer prevents us from the harmful ultraviolet rays of sun.Oxygen in the atmosphere is supports life.

14. The excellent feedback system in which plants take in carbon di oxide released by animals(Man is a social animal too!!) and release oxygen required by them is designed to balance the respiratory content in the atmosphere for every living being to survive.

15.The gravitational pull of earth is sufficient to prevent Oxygen escaping into atmosphere.

These are the few of many reasons which bear testimony to the fact that the world we live in is tailor made to suit our requirements.The theory of probability tells us that all of these could not have happened by chance.These are one of  the few facts I encountered in my course of 'education'.I have always been a theist but there was always a seemingly unending battle in my mind about the true nature of God.I always believed that there IS God but the question which raged a battle in my mind was Who is he?? Is he a formless entity or has he got any form?Can we see him? If yes then How?Some of these intriguing questions might also be troubling you...I'll help you to find some answers from my perspective in the next post...

I'll conclude this post with a 'valedictory' poem which I read in seventh grade.

All things bright and beautiful,

All creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful,

The Lord God made them all.

Each little flower that opens,

Each little bird that sings,

He made their glowing colours,

He made their tiny wings.

The rich man in his castle,

The poor man at his gate,

God made them high and lowly,

The purple headed mountain,

The river running by,

The sunset and the morning,

That brightens up the sky;

The cold wind in the winter,

The pleasant summer sun,

The ripe fruits in the garden,−

He made them every one:

he tall trees in the greenwood,

The meadows where we play,

The rushes by the water,

We gather every day;

He gave us eyes to see them,

And lips that we might tell,

How great is God Almighty,

Who has made all things well.

Good Day!!! 

Faith (Part 1)- Buying your Ammeter

Heaveno!!


Well I was wondering how to start this post. Like most of us do, I started with "In this post I am going to write about faith......" I somehow thought that the title is absolutely explicit with with not even an iota of obscurity involved and the reader obviously understands what he/she is going to read about.Also I know that I was no Hemingway or Dickens in my past life so that I could have some reminiscent writing skills(Although I am a staunch believer of reincarnation).Finally I have decided to start this post in the way I first considered to write.If you have any better ways(I bet you will have!!),I am always open to suggestions and healthy criticism.Now that you know how it's going to begin,you can always skip the first line.After all it's Democracy in most parts of the world. :)

This post is about my own personal experiences with faith,religion and spirituality.It will be related to in instalments ( Interest free of course!).Although I consider myself still a novice to write on such a mature subject and rightly so,but I want to share what I went through and learnt in this process.Please don't infer that this is about some miracles which happened in my life like I prayed to God and Lo! I got a wish fulfilled.It didn't happen with me and I can assure you it won't happen with anybody else too(who can be sure that a psychiatrist will declare him sane).

Blaise Pascal said, "Faith indeed tells what the senses do not tell, but not the contrary of what they see. It is above them and not contrary to them."
Don't get irritated I won't ask you to convert it into indirect speech.
(Poor)Jokes apart,As we all know that Blasie Pascal was one of the greatest mathematician,physicist and a man of high scientific temperament.He devoted the later years of life to philosophy and theology.What compelled him to do so?
The two great physicists Albert Einstein and Sir Isaac Newton were also strong believers in God.They knew and understood science more that most of us.What happened then?why did they started talking about old things like God and the superpower.That is where the thin line between scientists and pseudo scientists starts becoming visible.

The people who debate about God's existence always use science as the only weapon in the war of words.They argue that now when we've reached the moon (and quote some recent developments),it is useless to talk about God.Science is everything.I respect their contentions with the theists but I feel sorry for their myopic vision.

What I feel, is that the more you learn and study science, the more you will come closer to God.I don't talk here about God as some specific form but an entity as a whole.If you study with a little bit of understanding,you will definitely 'Imbibe' the basic laws of science and when you do so,you are surely on the path of spirituality.You need not to go to a spiritual 'master' and pay thousands of rupees to learn the 'Art of ___'.
(just in case money is overflowing from your pockets,contact me.I'll give you my account number :) )


I recently read the autobiography of Dr. APJ Kalam and I found that he had the same opinion too about science and spirituality.Actually it is the basic concept of duality.Science and Spirituality are the the two faces of the same coin.We always look it from only one side.Both go hand in hand.We always look up to the extremes.We have the basic conviction that both these are two opposite things.But actually it is the opposite of what we think.One thing justifies the other.People who call these things as opposites and unrelated are like   a student with only a Voltmeter measuring the voltage across two points.He correctly measures the voltage  but when he is asked about current, he says it is not present at all.Now he acts foolish and rejects the presence of current ,only because he could not measure it.
Bhaiyaji!!! Get an ammeter and Get well soon..... :)

When are you planning to buy your Ammeter??????

In the next post I'll try to give some examples which are actually the basic concepts I(and you too) read in high school science books and when you start pondering over whys and hows about these ,you will definitely get your answer.The best teacher and guide is inside you.It is you!!  Trust me....And for all students, I advise you to always be inquisitive.If someone shuns your questions,Consider him a bad teacher unworthy of your respect. Do not get disheartened and never ever devaluate yourself. Your inquisitiveness is precious.It is the path to knowledge and self realisation.Don't let it drown.

Glossary:
Ammeter: A device used to measure current in an electrical circuit
Voltmeter:A device used to measure voltage across two points an electrical circuit.

The Best Policy

As they say: "Don't judge a book by its cover" .Please don't be mistaken that I am a snake oil salesman trying to sell you an insurance policy.Let the salesmen fraternity not be offended.I am writing about the best policy in life(and not life insurance).No prizes for guessing."Honesty is the best policy" the quote that you often see in children's story books in the moral of the story column after the story 'The Honest Woodcutter'

The first story  I am going to share with you is about honesty(No please don’t grump .This is not about the woodcutter who lost his axe).It is  a rather mundane one and is based on real life incidents which, in a way, transformed the life of the person who went through the incident . I hope you too find it inspiring.

This is the story of Vibhu. This Incident helped him to understand the meaning of honesty and the inexplicable  joy that one derives from an act of honesty which blossoms right from the heart(Not the heart they teach in the circulatory system ,which I could never understand).Today he is a successful working professional and a man who abides by simple ethics of life. He considers his father as his hero and his guide in the tough journey called ‘life’.

 Vibhu had a modest upbringing. His father was a Government employee. His earning was sufficient to satisfy the basic needs of his family. He was highly regarded among his colleagues as a man of principles. In his workplace(which was notoriously famous for being one of the most corrupt government departments),he never compromised with his principles. He was like a lotus in the marsh.He was a humble man who believed in the age old principle of “simple living and high thinking.”

It was the last week of march. In Northern part of India, sun had already started to shine brightly in the plains and the knocks of the sultry summers was audible as the spring was  gradually  transmuting into summers. Ten days back, The results of the final in home examinations of the school  were announced and  Vibhu had secured third rank in his class. He was happy but at the same time, he felt disappointed for having missed the second spot by 3 and first rank by 8 marks. The sixth grade student vowed to secure the first position in the next class.( we all do that!! J )

With the report card, the academic calendar for the upcoming session was also handed over to the parents. The school had set up the book  purchase stall within the premises for the convenience of the students for a duration of three days, starting April 1^st. The bookseller had a monopoly in the city as far as the business of school books was concerned. He was the official bookseller of almost every school in the town and so he charged very high prices. The books were sold at M.R.P.s with no discount and the notebooks with the school logo were priced more than double the price of similar notebooks in the market. Since, the price of the notebooks was unreasonably high(wrongly),vibhu’s father decided to buy only books from the school stall and notebooks from the market. The books were available only  at the stall so they had to get them from school.

Vibhu went to his school to purchase new books for the upcoming session with his father. As they had decided, they went to the counter and asked for a set of “only textbooks for class 7”.His father paid the amount and handed over the receipt to the person who was delivering the packed ‘sets’. He handed  over a big packet to his father and  the transaction was over. They started moving towards the gate. Father was holding the packet and Vibhu was supporting it from bottom.

As  they were moving out of the school, Vibhu felt a sudden rush of joy. He realized that the packet was heavier than what it should have actually been. It took him no time to realize that the bookseller had mistakenly handed them a set of books as well as notebooks. The small boy made some calculations in his mind and smiled thinking “A profit of Rs. 800.Wow!! “

He softly said” Papa,move fast.I think he has handed us the notebooks too by mistake”. On hearing this, his father’s face fell. He thought “This is not what I want my child to learn.”

He suddenly about turned and started moving towards the counter. Vibhu was surprised and didn’t understand what was going on. He said ”Papa!why are you going back ?”

Father didn’t reply and went straight to the counter and said “Mister, your delivery assistant has mistakenly handed us the notebooks along with books and we had paid only for a set of books. Please take the notebooks back”

Vibhu was enraged at this action of his father. He decided to stay quiet then and as they both moved out of the gate he couldn’t control his tears and started crying at this apparent loss. He scowled at his father and shouted” why did you do that? The bookseller is himself dishonest. What do you think you are doing? Trying to be the greatest of the great”. Vibhu was weeping uncontrollably and at the same time he was furiously yelling at his father. Father had a calm expression on his face. The subtle smile on his face could be noticed.

He took Vibhu to a nearby confectionary shop and bought him a Coca-Cola, Vibhu’s favourite soft drink. His tears stopped but the anger was still visible on his face. In a voice affected by the retreating tears he angrily said “What you have done cannot be compensated with this soft drink. I am not a small child”(children always think they are big enough to take on the world)

Now it was the father’s turn to speak. He said “ My dear child. It was wrong on our part to take the notebooks for which we have not paid. I have lived my life with honesty and I would not like my children going on the wrong path. Today you may think I am wrong but someday you will realize that I was right that day. At this moment you will think that I am talking about idealities and trying to be Yudhishthira, but it will take you some time to realize the importance of being truthful and honest. As far as the bookseller charging monopolistic rates is concerned, let us leave him to God and moreover,  if he is being dishonest, why should we come down to his level. If the other person does wrong, it doesn’t mean that we should also start to follow him. Somewhere in your heart, you know that you are doing wrong but you are trying to justify it by convincing yourself that if the bookseller is dishonest, there is nothing wrong in taking the notebooks(acting dishonestly).Isn’t it what you are trying to tell me?”

Vibhu nodded his head in the affirmative. He had agreed some of his father’s words but was still not convinced.

Father said” Then tell me, If you too act dishonestly, then what difference will remain between you and him?”

Vibhu had no answer.He had got his lesson. He sat silently with a calm expression and looked at the road outside. He saw a cyclist whistling and pedaling swiftly. In a minute the cyclist disappeared into the horizon.

Heaveno!!!

The introductory post is titled Heaveno!!Sounds bizarre(It does!!).Before even reading the first line some of you might have futilely consulted the dictionary's F section only to find out that the word doesn't exist and exasperatingly grumbled some 'F' words for me.But the intent was not to irritate you.It's just a healthy way to say Hello by avoiding Hell(at least verbally) in our lives. La vita è bella(Italian:Life is beautiful) so why be bothered by trifles and spoil our lives.The journey of a thousand miles begins with a first step.So our first small step towards a happier life would be Heaveno!! ( Heaveno=Avoid hell :) )


The unconventional title that I chose for this Blog is just because I didn't get a username by the title 'The caged Bird'.It was already taken.This doesn't mean that I am an adept at Latin or Greek ('Ornith' literally means Bird in Greek) and moreover this confession bears testimony to the fact that the writer is Honest. :)




The Caged Ornith is an account of the arduous journey of a tormented soul seeking a quantum of Solace(Oh! you just can't escape Bond).Sometimes we use a single word 'LIFE' to describe the last 'hefty' sentence.In this blog I will try to share some experiences of the aforementioned 'soul(s)'.The stories/experiences that I will share with you, left an indelible impression on the lives of the people who went through them.


As an old saying goes "Experience is the best teacher",these experiences helped them to learn some rudimentary things about life which you don't find in books .This Will be a Spiritual,Motivational and Educational odyssey encompassing delectable stories of their adventures.Its best if you learn from other's mistakes because you won't have chance to commit all of them yourself.From as much as I have heard from people,read and experienced myself ,I can infer that you are going to relish them and moreover they will strike the chords of your heart (somewhere down the corner at least).